Contents

PUBLIC SPEAKING

This guide will help you get started with research in Public Speaking at the City Tech Library and beyond.

Databases

The library's online databases provide access to articles and images in journals, magazines, newspaper and reference sources. For public speaking students who need current information on various controversial topics (capital punishment, abortion, stem cell research, school prayer, etc), along with differing perspectives on those issues (for and against), the following two full text databases are the first that should be consulted.

CQ Researcher: Each report provides an abstract, an overview, background, the current situation, outlook, special focus, a chronology, pro/con debates, a bibliography, the next step, contacts and footnotes. From 1991-2005 the printed version can be located in Reference (see below); the electronic version contains all of these years plus the current issues.

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center: The researcher can type in a topic or select an issue from the list on the home page of this database. For any subject chosen there are provided dozens of viewpoint essays that take sides for or against the chosen subject. Also provided are reference documents, statistics, hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, images, and web sites.

Not on campus? All you need is your City Tech ID. Login to the databases from off-campus using the
library number on the front of your ID. For more information or to report a problem, see Off-campus Access on the Library website.

Journals and Magazines

To find a specific journal or magazine:

Click the Find Journals/eJournals tab on the Library website. Search or browse by journal or magazine title, or browse by subject in [].

To find magazines and journals in print at the library, search the CUNY+ catalog.

If you need an article from a magazine or journal at another library, request it through Interlibrary Loan.

Print Periodicals for Public Speaking

CQ Researcher. Library has volumes 1-15 (1991-2005) bound in Reference (REF H 35 .C67). This title is no longer received in hard copy. See Databases/Electronic Resources below for current (after 2005) and retrospective electronic versions of the print titles. This title is an excellent resource for students to use to find full-length reports on topics/issues of interest that they are going to speak about. Includes bibliographies and pro and con debates on these subjects.

Vital Speeches of the Day. Library has volumes 21-68 (Oct. 15, 1954-Oct. 2002) in the bound periodicals, with more current issues ( Oct. 15, 2002- ) at the Periodicals Desk. See Databases/Electronic Resources above for current as well as retrospective issues (starting with Oct. 8, 1934) in electronic form. This title has speeches by U. S. presidents, world leaders and other noted speakers on a wide range of subjects. This is a good resource for students who need to find examples of representative speeches to use as a model for their own presentations.

Reference Resources

The library has many reference books like encyclopedias, dictionaries and atlases that are useful for Public Speaking research. You can search for reference books by keyword or subject in the library catalog.

Print reference books are located on the shelves behind the Reference Desk on the 4th floor of the library. Print reference books can only be used in the library.

Many of our reference books are available electronically (ebooks) -- read them by clicking through the links in the library catalog. For off-campus access to ebooks, login with library number on the front of your ID. For more information or to report a problem, see Off-campus Access on the Library website.

Finding Books and More in the Library

To find books at other CUNY libraries, select All CUNY Libraries. To request a book from another CUNY library, click Request a Copy.

Searching with Subject Headings

Using subject headings to search the library catalog can help you quickly find useful books and multimedia. Once you have found a book on your research topic, click on the Subjects links to find more books on that topic.

You can also search by subject from the Find Books tab on the Library website. To find hundreds of books that cover both sides of any controversial issue, type in the subject you are doing research on followed by "AND OPPOSING VIEWPOINTS" (for example, Patriot Act and opposing viewpoints). This series of books can also be found in the database Opposing Viewpoints (see above under DATABASES).

You will find dozens of books on making a speech under the subject heading PUBLIC SPEAKING. All of the titles using this subject heading can be borrowed from the Library. In addition, the following other subject headings can also be useful:

ACTING

ANECDOTES

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION (also BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS)

COMMUNICATION OF TECHNICAL INFORMATION

ELOCUTION

ELOQUENCE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE -- DICTION (also ENGLISH LANGUAGE -- RHETORIC)

FORENSICS (PUBLIC SPEAKING)

ORAL COMMUNICATION (also ORAL INTERPRETATION and ORAL READING)

ORATORY

PERSUASION (RHETORIC)

QUOTATIONS, ENGLISH

READING

SELF-PRESENTATION

SPEECH (also SPEECHES, ADDRESSES, ETC. and SPEECHWRITING)

STAGE FRIGHT

VOICE CULTURE

WIT AND HUMOR

Internet Resources

Allyn & Bacon Public Speaking Website: From a publisher of a speech textbook, this site contains six modules to learn about the process of public speaking and help prepare talks. The modules are: assess; analyze; research; organize; deliver; and discern. Contains links to other websites.

Web Sites to Find Speeches: Provides briefly annotated web addresses for such speeches sites as the Library of Congress American Memory Project, the White House, and American Rhetoric. It is maintained by California State University, Sacramento.

Professional Organizations

American Communication Association Online (ACA): This association was founded in 1993 "for the purposes of fostering research and scholarship in all areas of human communication behavior, promoting and improving excellence in the pedagogy of communication."

National Communication Association (NCA): Founded in 1914, NCA is the oldest and largest national organization to promote communication scholarship and education. It was formerly known as the National Association of Academic Teachers of Public Speaking, then the Speech Association of American, and then the Speech Communication Association.

Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA): The Association's mission is to practice and encourage the highest standards of voice and speech use, and "to serve the needs of voice and speech teachers and students in training and practice."